You see the title, you are thinking armored Humvees rolling through desert storms and men in full metal flak jackets and goggles. Modern Conflict isn't that kind of game. It's a fast paced action strategy game where you move your tank and heli units to take enemy bases, all with finger taps. It mostly involves strategies like in an RTS game where you must manage your resources well and make sure they move to where you need them the most. Just because you don't get to shoot an assault riffle and toss a couple of grenades in Modern Conflict, it doesn?t mean you won?t see some action.

Gameplay

Modern Conflict HD has a simple RTS gameplay but you must think fast and tap fast to beat the AI opponent. Your goal is to capture all enemy bases by overwhelming them with more tanks or helicopters. If you can move more units into an enemy base that has fewer units, you win the base. It sounds like a simple math game, but in real time gameplay, the AI player?s actions are unpredictable and in some game modes, they have reinforcements. There are a variety of base sizes, upgrades in skills, enemy spies that get captured and all of sudden you know how many units each of their bases has, and more elements that make the gameplay fun. You also can choose from four nationalities, though the gameplay doesn?t vary that much based on which nation you are fighting for. There are also difficulty levels that you can definitely tell the difference in the AI?s strength levels.

The game offers tutorial levels where it introduces you to the game elements and shows you what it takes to invade a base and how to hold it. After the tutorial, you will have three game modes to hone your skills in. Campaign mode is a good start as it has a very simple goal where you take all the bases on the map. The first few levels have only tanks, and in these levels, you will learn how many tanks you need to take over an unoccupied base, how many you will need to take an enemy base and the differences between regular bases and super bases that are guarded by serious firepower. Then the game mixes in helicopters with tanks, which adds more variety and dynamic to the gameplay, i.e. tanks can?t invade a heli base, but helicopters can invade a tank base but can?t occupy one.

There are nine levels in Campaign mode, after you?ve gained victories in all of them, you can try your hands at Survival and Special Ops missions. Survival missions are interesting because enemies get reinforcements and while you are trying to take on current enemy forces moving about the bases, you will need to watch out for where the reinforcements land and plan it accordingly. Strategies can vary quite a bit here: you can surround the bases that will get reinforcements and ambush them when they arrive, you can fortify the bases with overwhelming number of units and watch the reinforcements bite the dust on arrival, or any other clever strategy you can come up with. This adds yet another layer of dynamic to the gameplay. Special Ops missions are basically the kitchen sink where you are asked to complete missions with all elements thrown in.

The game uses Crystal service to keep track of your achievements and to provide global highscore board for each gamelay mode.

Graphics

The graphics in Modern Conflict HD looks luxurious on the iPad. The maps look sharp and colorful, bases and their surroundings have a realistic look and all units are moving very smoothly. The graphics take a strategy board game to a whole new level thanks to the detailed modeling and non-stop actions that are happening on the screens.

You only need to tap on the screen to control your units: tap once to move some of the units from one base to another and tap twice to move all units to another base, plain and simple. The control is responsive and has no glitches.

Sound

Modern Conflict HD has both background music and sound FX. The title track and in-game tracks have a very modern beat with techno digital mastering mixed in. The music collection has a good number of tracks so that it doesn?t get boring listening to just one track. When you start a mission, the game lowers the music volume and lets sound bites take over. Every time you take an action, you will get a voice confirmation via communications and then it?s time for explosions and mayhem sound to set in. The audio package keeps your ears pretty busy during the gameplay, and you can turn them off if you wish, but you can?t play your own iPod music.

Conclusion

With 33 missions, four countries and 3 difficulty levels, Modern Conflict HD has a ton of fun gameplay. Some missions are like a walk in the park others are more like a frantic struggle, but either way, your brain and finger will get a refreshing walkout. The sceneries are good and sounds are plenty. Even if you don?t get to wear a goggle, who can resist sneaking up on your enemies in the jungle, grabbing their hardware and their spies along the way! There is also an iPhone and iPod touch version available.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: - 5 - Sharp and colorful graphics.Sound: - 4.5 - Fast and modern beat with a digital mastering, good sound bites.Controls: - 5 - Tap control is surprisingly easy and responsive, no glitches. Gameplay: - 4.5 - Beefy gameplay in three different game modes with a good amount of replay.

Playing Hints and Tips:

- Use your helicopter as battering ramps to take out some units before sending in the tanks.